[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 192 (Thursday, October 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69237-69238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22135]
[[Page 69237]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-445, 50-446, 72-74, 50-334, 50-412, 72-1043, 50-346,
72-14, 50-440, and 72-69; NRC-2023-0100]
In the Matter of Vistra Operations Company LLC; Energy Harbor
Nuclear Corp.; Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2;
Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Davis-Besse Nuclear
Power Station, Unit No. 1; Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit No. 1; and
the Associated Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Direct and indirect transfer of licenses, order.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
order approving the application filed by Vistra Operations Company LLC
(VistraOps) and Energy Harbor Nuclear Corp. (collectively, the
applicants) on April 14, 2023, as supplemented by letters dated April
20, 2023, August 7, 2023, and September 12, 2023. Specifically, the
order approves the direct and indirect transfer of the facility
operating licenses and general licenses held by the applicants and
conforming amendments to the licenses related to VistraOps indirectly
acquiring Energy Harbor Corp. and its subsidiaries and restructuring
the upstream ownership of Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Unit Nos.
1 and 2.
DATES: The order was issued on September 28, 2023, and is effective for
1 year.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0100 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0100. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual listed in the ``For Further
Information Contact'' section of this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737,
or by email to [email protected]. The order, the NRC staff safety
evaluation, and the draft conforming amendments are available in ADAMS
under Package Accession No. ML23237B448.
NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Kuntz, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3733; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the order is attached.
Dated: September 29, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert F. Kuntz,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III, Division of
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment--Order Approving Direct and Indirect Transfer of Licenses
Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Beaver Valley
Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station,
Unit No. 1; Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit No. 1; and the Associated
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
In the Matter of: VISTRA OPERATIONS COMPANY LLC, COMMANCHE PEAK POWER
COMPANY LLC, ENERGY HARBOR NUCLEAR CORP., AND ENERGY HARBOR NUCLEAR
GENERATION LLC; (Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2;
Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Davis-Besse Nuclear
Power Station, Unit No. 1; Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit No. 1; and
the Associated Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations)
Docket Nos. 50-445, 50-446, 72-74, 50-334, 50-412, 72-1043, 50-346, 72-
14, 50-440, and 72-69
License Nos. NFP-87, NFP-89, DPR-66, NPF-73, NPF-3, and NPF-58
ORDER APPROVING DIRECT AND INDIRECT TRANSFER OF LICENSES AND DRAFT
CONFORMING LICENSE AMENDMENTS
I.
This order pertains to the following licenses (collectively, the
Licenses):
Facility Operating License Nos. NFP-87 and NFP-89 for
Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (Comanche Peak),
respectively, and the general license for the associated independent
spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI). Comanche Peak is located in
Somervell County, Texas, and Vistra Operations Company LLC (VistraOps)
and Comanche Peak Power Company LLC (CPPC) are the licensees.
Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-66 and NPF-73
for Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (Beaver Valley),
respectively, and the general license for the associated ISFSI. Beaver
Valley is located in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and Energy Harbor
Nuclear Corp. (EHNC) and Energy Harbor Nuclear Generation LLC (EHNG)
are the licensees.
Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-3 for Davis-
Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1 (Davis-Besse) and the general
license for the associated ISFSI. Davis-Besse is located in Ottawa
County, Ohio, and EHNC and EHNG are the licensees.
Facility Operating License No. NPF-58 for Perry Nuclear
Power Plant, Unit No. 1 (Perry) and the general license for the
associated ISFSI. Perry is located in Lake County, Ohio, and EHNC and
EHNG are the licensees.
II.
By application dated April 14, 2023 (Agencywide Documents Access
and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML23104A423), as
supplemented by letters dated April 20, 2023 (ML23110A788), August 7,
2023 (ML23219A106), and September 12, 2023 (ML23255A061), VistraOps, on
behalf of itself, CPPC and certain other affiliates, and EHNC, acting
on behalf of itself and EHNG (collectively, the Applicants), requested,
pursuant to Section 184 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended
(the Act), and Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)
sections 50.80, ``Transfer of licenses,'' and 72.50, ``Transfer of
license,'' that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the
Commission) consent to the direct and indirect transfer of control of
the Licenses.
Specifically, the application requests that the NRC consent to the
license
[[Page 69238]]
transfers resulting from a proposed transaction, as further described
in a Transaction Agreement, pursuant to which VistraOps will acquire
Energy Harbor Corp. (EHC) and its subsidiaries and will restructure the
upstream ownership of Comanche Peak. As part of the proposed
transaction, EHNC's and EHNG's parent, EHC, will become an indirect
subsidiary of VistraOps via merger (such indirect subsidiary that will
survive the merger is referred to herein as VOC Sub). Following such
merger, VOC Sub's indirect parent company, tentatively referred to as
Special Purpose Entity 2 LLC (Vistra Vision), will be indirectly owned
and controlled by VistraOps, which will have an 85 percent ownership
interest in Vistra Vision, and the remaining 15 percent ownership
interest will be held by certain former shareholders of EHC, accounts
managed by Avenue Capital Management II, L.P. and Nuveen Asset
Management, LLC, and potentially certain other investors. As a result
of the proposed transaction, EHNC and EHNG will become indirect
subsidiaries of VistraOps. For business and tax purposes, the proposed
transaction will also create three new indirect subsidiaries of
VistraOps between VistraOps and CPPC, resulting in an indirect transfer
of control of the Comanche Peak licenses.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.90, ``Application for amendment of license,
construction permit, or early site permit,'' the application also
requests conforming amendments to the Licenses to reflect the proposed
transfer.
On May 22, 2023, the NRC published a notice of consideration of
approval of the application in the Federal Register (88 FR 32807). This
notice provided an opportunity to comment, request a hearing, and
petition for leave to intervene on the application. No requests for
hearing or public comments were received.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license for a production or
utilization facility, or any right thereunder, shall be transferred,
either voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, through
transfer of control of the license to any person, unless the Commission
gives its consent in writing. Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.50, no license or
any part included in a license issued under 10 CFR part 72 for an ISFSI
shall be transferred, either voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or
indirectly, through transfer of control of the license to any person,
unless the Commission gives its consent in writing. Upon review of the
information in the application, as supplemented, and other information
before the Commission, the NRC staff has determined that VistraOps is
qualified to hold the Licenses to the extent proposed in the
application, as supplemented, and that transfer of the Licenses is
otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations,
and orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto, subject to the
conditions set forth below.
Upon review of the application, as supplemented, for conforming
license amendments to reflect the transfer, the NRC staff has
determined that:
(1) The application, as supplemented, complies with the standards
and requirements of the Act and the Commission's rules and regulations
set forth in 10 CFR chapter I.
(2) The facilities will operate in conformity with the application,
as supplemented, the provisions of the Act, and the rules and
regulations of the Commission.
(3) There is reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by
the amendments can be conducted without endangering the health and
safety of the public and that such activities will be conducted in
compliance with the Commission's regulations.
(4) The issuance of the amendments will not be inimical to the
common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.
(5) The issuance of the amendments will be in accordance with 10
CFR part 51 of the Commission's regulations and all applicable
requirements have been satisfied. The findings set forth above are
supported by an NRC staff safety evaluation dated the same date as this
order, which is available at ADAMS Accession No. ML23237B430 (non-
proprietary).
III.
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the Act,
42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i), and 2234, and 10 CFR 50.80, 10 CFR 72.50,
and 10 CFR 50.90, it is hereby ordered that the license transfer
application, as described herein, is approved, subject to the following
conditions:
1. At least 5 business days before the closing of the proposed
transaction, the Applicants shall submit, under oath or affirmation,
the following information to the NRC in accordance with 10 CFR part 50:
the names, addresses, and citizenship of the directors and principal
officers of Special Purpose Entity 1 LLC, Special Purpose Entity 2 LLC,
Special Purpose Entity 3 LLC, and Special Purpose Entity 2 LLC Managing
Member LLC.
2. VistraOps shall provide satisfactory documentary evidence to the
Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation that, as of the
date of the license transfer, the licensees reflected in the amended
licenses have obtained the appropriate amount of insurance required of
a licensee under 10 CFR part 140 and 10 CFR 50.54(w).
It is further ordered that after receipt of all required regulatory
approvals of the proposed license transfer, the Applicants shall inform
the Directors of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and the
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards in writing of such
receipt no later than 5 business days prior to the date of the closing
of the proposed transaction. Should the proposed transaction not be
completed within 1 year of the date of this order, this order shall
become null and void, provided, however, that upon written application
and for good cause shown, such date may be extended by order. The
conditions of this order may be amended upon application by the
Applicants and approval by the NRC.
It is further ordered that consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), the
license amendments that make changes, as indicated in Enclosure 2 to
the letter forwarding this order, to reflect the subject license
transfer, are approved. The amendments shall be issued and made
effective at the time the proposed transfer actions are completed.
This order is effective upon issuance.
For further details with respect to this order, see the application
dated April 14, 2023, as supplemented by letters dated April 20, 2023,
August 7, 2023, and September 12, 2023, and the associated NRC staff
safety evaluation dated the same date as this order. Publicly available
documents created or received at the NRC are accessible electronically
through ADAMS in the NRC Library at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter
problems accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the
NRC Public Document Room reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209
or 301-415-4737 or by email to [email protected].
Dated: September 28, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA Michael King for/
Andrea D. Veil,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
/RA Robert Lewis for/
John W. Lubinski,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-22135 Filed 10-4-23; 8:45 am]
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